The present invention relates generally to orthopedic devices for human use and, more particularly, back braces to assist persons with moving and lifting. During bending over or lifting, lower-back muscles contract to stabilize the lumbar spine. Some of these lower-back muscles are involuntary and they spring into action to protect the spine from lateral deformation and/or aid in moving one's torso. The back brace provides increased support for the user's lumbar spine when bending over or lifting to support the lower back muscles during such activity. Back braces are worn around the midsection of the user's torso and are manually adjusted by the user while standing to achieve the desired amount of support to the back portion of the user's torso.
As an example, back braces are sometimes used by laborers that have labor intensive jobs and perform heavy lifting as a routine activity. Laborers may adjust the back brace depending upon the task they are performing. For example, they may loosen the brace when standing and/or walking for less restriction and greater comfort, but may tighten the brace when they are preparing for bending over to perform heavy lifting. Back braces are also often used on medical patients as a recovery aid to protect their back muscles and promote a safe recovery following a surgical procedure or an injury. The user may adjust the back brace to wear it loosely when less support is needed and to wear it more tightly when more support is needed.
However, both the laborer and the medical patient may find it difficult and/or tedious to correctly adjust the brace every time they transition between needing less support and needing greater support. For example, the manual laborer may loosen the brace during a period of respite and forget to tighten it before lifting, or may tighten it inadequately when resuming lifting tasks. Further, the medical patient may require increased support while bending over and may forget to tighten the brace when transitioning from standing to bending. In some scenarios, patients may need to be continuously monitored on the job to determine the appropriate treatment for their back condition. These scenarios may result in back injury to the user and/or improper treatment.
Thus, it is desired that changes in looseness and tightness should be accommodated as users perform different activities. In addition, back monitors are needed that can continuously monitor a patient's torso while they perform everyday routines.